Royal Gold Magistrate

Early the next morning, Emperor Jing and his entourage arrived at the county yamen.

Fang Zheng had already arranged for people to receive the three of them.

After signing the loan agreement, Emperor Jing boarded the carriage and left Taoyuan County.

Li Yuanzhao still had a reluctant expression on his face, but in the end, Guo Tianyang forcibly dragged him onto the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Emperor Jing watched Li Yuanzhao sulking alone and suddenly found it a bit amusing.

Although the Crown Prince was fond of playing, this was the first time he had seen such behavior from him.

It seemed that Taoyuan County was truly a place that made people forget to leave.

So he asked, “Yuanzhao, what insights did you gain from this trip out of the palace?”

Li Yuanzhao muttered, “None.”

“Insolence!”

“I apologize, Imperial Father. Your son has witnessed the prosperous lives of the people, a clear result of Your Majesty’s hard work and benevolent governance.”

Sigh, what nonsense.

Emperor Jing stared at Li Yuanzhao for a moment. “Good! Then when we return to the capital, you will walk back to the palace. Take a good look at how the people in the capital are living and report back to me!”

Li Yuanzhao nodded numbly, but his mind was recalling all the novel things in Taoyuan County.

Especially that pork stewed with vermicelli—it was really awesome. When he got back, he would castrate a pig and try it himself!

It was also a pity that he didn’t get to see the legendary Zhang Biao and that magical horn in the past two days.

Suddenly, Li Yuanzhao raised his head as if he had thought of something. “Imperial Father! Isn’t it a waste of talent for Fang Zheng to be a mere seventh-rank minor official?”

Hearing this, Guo Tianyang couldn’t help but feel a bit sad.

How was he inferior to Fang Zheng, apart from being a eunuch? He had diligently served in the palace for so many years, attending to both the Crown Prince and the Emperor.

In the end, he was actually not as good as Fang Zheng, whom they had only met a few times.

His life was truly bleak…

Emperor Jing said, “Indeed, it’s a waste of talent. But if Fang Zheng can summon heavenly thunder to resolve the flood disaster, he can be appointed to any position he desires at that time!”

Li Yuanzhao’s eyes turned cold. “Imperial Father sent him to resolve the flood disaster? Can he really summon heavenly thunder?”

Emperor Jing impatiently waved his hand. His own son was quite clever, but sometimes he acted so foolishly.

“What heavenly thunder? It was just a joke! Go back and study properly!”

Li Yuanzhao said dejectedly, “If only he could really resolve the flood disaster. Your son wants Magistrate Fang to be your son’s teacher!”

“What? Are you saying that the tutors in the palace are not as skilled as Fang Zheng?”

Li Yuanzhao curled his lips disdainfully. “In my opinion, the palace is full of outdated and inflexible people! I’d rather not learn their skills!”

“If those tutors had half of Magistrate Fang’s eloquence, your son wouldn’t skip classes!”

“What! You unfilial brat actually dared to skip classes!” Emperor Jing’s voice suddenly rose.

“If you ever skip classes or talk back to your tutors again, I will ground you! You like the Tiger and Leopard Garden so much, I’ll build another one for you to live in for the rest of your life! Understood?”

Hearing Emperor Jing’s stern tone, it seemed he was serious this time.

Li Yuanzhao felt a bit intimidated, but he still refused to yield. “It’s true! The things the tutors teach are outdated!”

“Just like Magistrate Fang said, are the words of the ancients completely correct? In my opinion, not necessarily!”

“Take this plain speech writing for example. It’s indeed simple and easy to learn! It’s much smoother for your son to read compared to classical Chinese.”

“If the ancient sages saw this, wouldn’t they criticize your son for lacking discipline and education?”

Emperor Jing was furious. “Shut up! You still have the face to mention it! Isn’t it because you lack ambition? After returning to the palace, you will recite books for me for three hours every day!”

“Write ten essays. If there is a single error in punctuation, you will write an additional one!”

Li Yuanzhao closed his eyes and kept grunting in defiance.

Emperor Jing laughed angrily. “Fine! You want Fang Zheng to enter the palace? If you can recite ten books in a row for me, I will let him join the Imperial Clan Court.”

Li Yuanzhao’s eyes lit up with joy.

If Fang Zheng could enter the Imperial Clan Court, it would be so much fun!

He was already bored enough in the palace. Having something new would be a godsend!

Taoyuan County was so interesting, and it was said that everything was created by Fang Zheng. So if he joined the Imperial Clan Court in the future…

“Imperial Father, you’ve promised. No going back on your word!”

“The Emperor never makes false promises!”

…………………………..

As the carriage reached the inner city, Emperor Jing directly dropped Li Yuanzhao off at the inner city gate.

He then arranged for Guo Tianyang to secretly gather guards to protect the Crown Prince, while he himself directly entered the palace alone in the carriage.

Returning to the palace, he immediately hurried to the Qinzheng Hall.

He had been away for a few days and had even taken the Crown Prince with him. The court officials must have already reached their limit.

After taking off his outer robe, he hadn’t even had time to review the memorials.

Led by Li Yansong, the ministers barged in like a storm.

As soon as they met, they prostrated themselves on the ground and loudly exclaimed, “How could Your Majesty privately leave the palace and even take the Crown Prince with you!”

“What about the people of the world?”

Emperor Jing awkwardly rubbed his nose, knowing he was in the wrong. He quickly said, “My beloved ministers, please rise.”

The few people remained kneeling on the ground. “We will not rise! The flood disaster in Jianjiang is becoming more severe by the day! The Provincial Governor of Jianjiang has already submitted three memorials in a row, waiting for Your Majesty’s review!”

“Your Majesty! This is a time of life and death for the people! How can you neglect state affairs?”

“Enough! Enough! All of you, get up. I understand!”

Seeing Emperor Jing’s displeased expression, the few ministers hesitantly stood up.

The Minister of Revenue, Zhang Shi, stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty! The Provincial Governor of Jianjiang has already urged several times. Now we need two hundred thousand taels of silver for disaster relief.”

“But the Ministry of Revenue currently can’t produce that much money… Please give your instructions, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Jing snorted coldly. “The state treasury can’t produce two hundred thousand taels of silver, so you think my personal treasury can?”

“How much silver can be provided now?”

“At most one hundred thousand taels! But Your Majesty, right now every bit counts.”

“Jianjiang is the granary of our Great Jing. I fear that if disaster relief efforts are inadequate, the world will be in chaos. There are still remnants of the Qian Dynasty in Jianjiang Prefecture that haven’t been eliminated!”

Emperor Jing waved his sleeve and said loudly, “Very well! I have already felt the ministers’ patriotic hearts. Then let’s raise funds from among the officials.”

“Now that a great disaster has befallen us and the state treasury is in dire straits, we can only work together to overcome this calamity.”

“I have already contributed ten thousand taels before. Let’s see how much money my ministers can produce at tomorrow’s court session!”

The few people immediately looked at each other. How did they get dragged into this…

Li Yansong hesitantly said, “Your Majesty, why don’t we first allocate one hundred thousand taels to be sent to Jianjiang? The matter of fundraising can be discussed tomorrow… Time waits for no one!”

“No rush. Let’s wait a bit more!”

“But this…” The ministers were in an uproar. Your Majesty is disregarding the lives of the people!

In the past, Your Majesty was not like this. If such a matter occurred, funds would have been allocated for disaster relief long ago. But now, it seems like you’re not anxious at all.

Another minister said, “Your Majesty! We can’t wait! How can such an important matter be delayed? We implore Your Majesty to make a decision soon!”

“We implore Your Majesty to make a decision soon!”

Emperor Jing said impatiently, “I know. All of you, leave! Is there nothing else in the world besides the Jianjiang flood disaster?”

“My beloved ministers, attend to your respective duties!”